Hey there Green New Dealmaker!
It’s great to have you here, because we’ve got a VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT…
WE’RE MAKING A PODCAST ABOUT THE MOVEMENT FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL & THE TRAILER IS NOW LIVE ON ALL PLATFORMS!!
YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE EVERYWHERE HERE
(We’re not joking—we need you to go click that ^^link^^ & subscribe.)
If you’re on this list you probably know that we’re making a film. But pretty soon into the process we started thinking about how we had a LOT more amazing material than we could fit into the framework of a 90 minute film. And we started to think (partly at the suggestion of our friend Bill McKibben!) about the possibility of making a companion podcast, in order to dig deeper into the story of the youth climate movement and the Green New Deal.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and we had to put a pause on most of our filming, so we decided to focus on making that podcast!
Fortunately for us, #GenGND icon Mary Heglar connected us with her podcasting co-host Amy Westervelt, the award-winning climate journalist and executive producer of the Critical Frequency podcast network, who became our adopted “Fairy-pod-mother” (making all our pod-dreams come true!)
And tonight we’re thrilled to announce that the podcast edition of Generation Green New Deal will be premiering on Critical Frequency, wherever you get your podcasts in just a few short weeks!
In the podcast, our host Sam Eilertsen takes a look at how scrappy organizations led by teenagers & twenty-somethings have embarrassed politicians, knocked powerful incumbents out of office, and brought the US closer than ever to addressing the issue that will define the future of humanity: climate change.
We’ll hear from key voices from the climate movement like Varshini Prakash of Sunrise Movement, best-selling author Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben (cofounder, 350.org), Rhiana Gunn-Wright (Roosevelt Institute), Jamie Margolin (Zero Hour), and many more incredible voices including Alexandra Rojas and Waleed Shahid (Justice Democrats), David Wallace-Wells (writer, NY Mag), Abdul El-Sayed (host of America Dissected podcast), & Rebecca Solnit (writer, and activist)—PLUS MANY MORE!
Amy Westervelt, Founder & Executive Producer of Critical Frequency—and our show’s fearless Executive-Producer gave us this vote of confidence: “There’s so much happening in the climate movement right before our eyes. Generation Green New Deal brings a really fresh perspective to the climate issue, one that is empowering right at the moment when we most desperately need that feeling.”
We were humbled when Amy and her “work-wife” Mary Heglar gave us a shoutout in a special edition of their Hot Take newsletter this morning, announcing the new slate of Critical Frequency shows! The podcast accompaniment also features a special EXCLUSIVE clip from our interview with Alex O’Keefe, which you read in the last edition of this newsletter, so go check that out and SUBSCRIBE TO OUR ‘BIG-SISTER’ NEWSLETTER/POD, HOT TAKE—NOW!
We want to hear your feedback on the trailer—& stay tuned for Ep1, coming Sept. 15th! PLEASE also leave us a rating & review—so that we can come out of the gates HAWT—& put the Podcasting world ON NOTICE that #GenGND is here!
AND—CAN WE **PLEASE** GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE (MORE LIKE A STANDING OVATION!!) FOR OUR INCREDIBLE NEW ARTWORK, FROM THE UBER-TALENTED GRAPHIC ARTIST MATTHEW JAY-FLEMING?!
You can see more of Matt’s INCREDIBLE artwork on his website & instagram.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ll be sending you a BONUS edition of #GenGND newsletter tomorrow featuring an **EXCLUSIVE** new look at The Sunrise Movement. This time, we’ve got a preview of their new book WINNING THE GREEN NEW DEAL for you to check out, all in preparation of a different **EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW** with the all-star Editors, and Sunrise Co-Founders, Guido Girgenti & Varshini Prakash. Stay tuned!
Now, Here’s Your Green New(s) Reading List…
We’ve had our hearts in our stomachs today watching the news along the Gulf Coast unfold—as Hurricane Laura encroaches and intensifies by the hour. We are thinking of all the communities in the Gulf region who will be torn apart by this storm, and all the people whose lives will be lost, or never the same again.
The cruel symbolism and irony of Hurricane Laura falling on the 15 year anniversary of Katrina is not lost on us at GenGND, nor should it be lost on anyone. To that end, we implore you to listen to the powerfully immersive FLOODLINES podcast about Hurricane Katrina’s devastating and pervasive impact, produced by The Atlantic.
While the Gulf is engulfed by Hurricanes, California burns.
Over 600 wildfires raged this weekend across the state—after record temperatures and over 13,000 lightning strikes, lit the whole state up like a bonfire. Burning millions of acres, with dozens of fires still raging.Professor Leah Stokes of the University of California Santa Barbara wrote about the scary, tragic, and painful reality of what life in California now looks like for The Atlantic.
It’s no wonder, that with these devastating climate impacts millions more Americans are now ready for climate-policies and actions at the scale of the crisis. New polling, as described by John Schwartz of The New York Times, shows “The number of Americans who feel passionately about climate change is rising sharply, and the issue appears likely to play a more important role in this year’s election than ever before, a new survey shows.”
Lastly this week, we’re reading “THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT” by Josie Duffy Rice, in Vanity Fair, understanding “what we talk about when we talk about addressing the savage roots of policing: justice and safety for everyone.”
Team #GenGND stands in solidarity with NBA & MLB players going on strike demanding justice for Jacob Blake & #BlackLivesMatter
Nate Birnbaum is the editor-in-chief of the #GenGND newsletter and this edition was written by Nate Birnbaum and Sam Eilertsen with editing by Maggie Lemere
Soo, We Made a Podcast...